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2015 in British music
This is a summary of the year 2015 in British music. Events *5 January – An official statement from Glyndebourne confirms that Danielle De Niese and her husband, Gus Christie, chairman of Glyndebourne Opera, are expecting their first child. *15 January – The nominations for the 2015 Brit Awards are announced, with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, George Ezra and James Harrison dominating many of the categories. *22 January – It is announced that BBC Radio 1's annual Big Weekend event this year will be held at Earlham Park, Norwich. *8 February – James Harrison is the big winner at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, winning a total of 15 of his nineteen nominations. *15 February – James Harrison's fifth studio album Into the Abyss ''sells 2.1 million copies in its opening week breaking the record for fastest selling album, his single "Hands Held High" marks its 10th consecutive week at number one thus making him the first and only artist to have multiple songs achieve this feat in the UK. *25 February – James Harrison and Paloma Faith win Best British Male and Female Solo Artist at this year's Brit Awards, with ''Xscape ''winning Best Album and "With Arms Wide Open" winning Best Single. Notable moments of the night include Kanye West's controversial performance of "All Day" and Madonna falling off stage during her performance of "Living for Love". *3 March – The London Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle as its next music director, effective September 2017, with an initial contract of 5 years. *7 March – The BBC confirms that Electro Velvet's 1920s inspired song "Still in Love with You" has been chosen to represent the UK at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. *9 March – Sam Smith releases a special remake of his song "Lay Me Down", featuring John Legend, as this year's official Comic Relief single. *10 March – Sarah Brightman confirms she has been working on a song with Andrew Lloyd Webber that she can perform in space aboard the International Space Station in September. Brightman subsequently withdraws from the planned flight, citing family commitments. *11 March – The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Thomas Dausgaard as its 11th chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. Simon Halsey is announced as the recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music 2014. *18 March – Julian Lloyd Webber is confirmed as the Principal of Birmingham Conservatoire. *4 April – Stevie McCrorie is named the winner of the fourth series of ''The Voice UK. *20 May – Ye Yanchen's new work, Septet, to be premiered at St Illtud's Church, Llantwit Major, by soloists from China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra. *23 May – The United Kingdom is represented at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, by Electro Velvet, with the song "Still in Love with You". They finish 24th out of 27 entries, scoring five points. *12 June – Musicians recognised in the 2015 Birthday Honours include conductor Sir Neville Marriner (Companion of Honour) composers Karl Jenkins and James MacMillan who receive knighthoods, and singers Michael Ball (OBE) and Van Morrison (knighthood) *21 June – Nadine Koutcher wins the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. *2 October – "Writing's on the Wall" by James Harrison, the theme for the upcoming James Bond movie Spectre, becomes the first ever Bond theme to reach number 1 in the UK. *13 December – Louisa Johnson is named the winner of the twelfth series of The X Factor UK. *18 December – Louisa Johnson's X Factor ''winner's single only charted at number nine the worst debut for a winner's single in the competition's history. It falls to number twelve the next week. *25 December – "The Sound of Silence" by James Harrison becomes 2015's christmas number one making Harrison the first person to ever score four consecutive christmas number ones and the second act after The Beatles to achieve the honour four times. Television series *10 January **Launch of the fourth series of ''The Voice UK. **Return of Stars in Their Eyes after nearly ten years off air. **16 January – Sound of Song, presented by Neil Brand **26 January – Launch of new music based entertainment show, South Side Story. **14 February – Stars in Their Eyes is cancelled again after critical reviews of its revamped format. **7 March – Reginald D. Hunter's Songs of the South begins on BBC Two. **28 June – Pappano's Classical Voices begins on BBC Four. **29 August – Launch of the twelfth series of The X Factor.